


All Tangled Up

by laughablyunimportant



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Football, Love Triangles, M/M, Misunderstandings, Unrequited Love, generic high school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-04
Updated: 2012-07-04
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6670504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laughablyunimportant/pseuds/laughablyunimportant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you end up with the one who's right there instead of the one you really want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Tangled Up

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Zeborah's Generic High School AU. In which Dave is on the football team, John is constantly bullied by the football team, and Dave and Jake both have crushes on John that John knows nothing about.

"But he's still _one of them_." Jake squeezed John's hand in his, leaning close, glasses catching the light and making them glint, hiding his eyes. A giggle bubbled up inside John, an urge to tell Jake how anime he looked, how ridiculous this all was, but the urge died in his throat. He gave a sigh instead, tugging on Jake's hold until the larger boy let him go, looking down at his feet with a tired sigh. "Yeah, I know. And that's why I can't say anything. Dave has to hang out with those guys every day. I can't ask him to stand up for me, then make him face them alone. I know you think he doesn't care about anything, but I think being a part of the team means a lot to him, and I—" 

"You mean a lot to me." John's head jerked up at that, at the soft edge to Jake's voice, at the hesitant way his hand settled on John's shoulder. "I know Strider's your friend, but I just don't want to see you get hurt. Don't put yourself in harm's way for him. Trust me. He's a cad, but he'd say the same, if he were here." 

John growled, a low, frustrated noise at the base of his throat. "But why?" he exploded. "Why do you guys even _care_? I'm just some dweeb, a class clown that only gets a laugh half the time. Why do you—mmphf!" How John managed not to notice Jake leaning in closer as he spoke is a mystery, but it definitely came as a surprise to him when the taller boy pressed their lips together, the hand on his shoulder sliding up to cup his cheek. It felt nice, and he had a second to relax into it before he pulled back, spluttering. "Jake, what! What are you doing???" 

Jake immediately pulled back, leaving a few feet of distance between them, his ears going bright red in the tracks of floodlight that managed to get through to them standing under the shadowed bleachers. 

"Oh crackerjack, that was awfully forward of me, wasn't it? I seem to have misread the situation something terrible. I'm so sorry, I'll just—" Music, heavy and cut with static, suddenly flared to life, startling them both. The pep-filled voices of cheerleaders soon rang out, and John realized, oh, it's just the halftime show. He could almost make them out, between the metal girders and the legs of people sitting above them. He'd have to hurry, if he wanted to get back to his seat before halftime ended and Dave was back out on the field. 

Then he looked at Jake again, at the scared-rabbit way he held himself, ready to bolt if he said "boo," and he realized this wasn't exactly something he could rush. "Jake," he started, voice too high, and stepped back into the shadows, hoping the dark would give him courage. "What was that for? Do you...do you like me?" 

Jake shifted from one foot to the other, silent, and getting redder by the instant. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. John thought about asking again, about telling him it was alright, they didn't have to talk about it, when suddenly, Dave ran up, ducking low and still in his uniform.

He greeted Jake with "Sorry, coach just _had_ to give us a pep talk, I don't have much time," apparently not seeing John. John would've said hi, would've stepped forward and asked Dave what he was doing here, did he and Jake normally meet under the bleachers during halftime, was that why John had found Jake here, but then Dave grabbed the front of Jake's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, and nothing made sense anymore. 

Dave looked up at a small "eep" coming from somewhere under the bleachers, fear icing the heat that had just started to uncoil in his chest. Jake pushed him away roughly, saying, "It's not what it looks like, it's fine, I can explain, John please—" Wait. Hold up a minute. John? 

Dave saw him then, all but hidden in shadow, eyes too wide to be real and seeming even smaller than usual. He picked up the same thread as Jake, saying, "John, wait—" but John dashed off and shit, shit he has to get back on the field, he didn't have _time_ for this. He whirled on Jake, poking him roughly in the chest with a gruff, "Fix this," then figured, what the hell, and kissed him for good measure before taking off. 

The crowd above him roars as they start calling out the player's names, and Jake shakes himself, realizing he's been standing under here in a daze for goodness knows how long. John's too long gone to catch up with now, which he supposes is just as well, since he has no idea _how_ he's going to explain to the boy that both he and Strider have feelings for him—or how to convince John to choose him, only him, when he still has the taste of Strider on his tongue.


End file.
